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GILBERTO REFLECTS

Gilberto cut a downcast figure in the tunnel after a mistake on his debut was pounced on by PSV to gain the upper hand in our UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie.

Gilberto cut a downcast figure in the tunnel after a mistake on his debut was pounced on by PSV to gain the upper hand in our UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie.

The first Brazilian international to play for the club, Gilberto looked bright in the early exchanges of a first appearance delayed by a calf injury only for his night to take a turn for the worse after 34 minutes.

Tidying up just in front of the back four, Gilberto was robbed of possession by Jeffersson Farfan, who took a couple of steps forward before lashing the ball home from 18 yards.

That proved the only goal of the game as, as expected, PSV proved stubborn opponents defensively and lively on the counter-attack.

We now have to turn the tie around in the second leg in Eindhoven on Wednesday (March 12) but, like his team-mates, Gilberto is convinced we can still progress.

"I dribbled and thought that Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate were behind me, but he (Farfan) was then alone," sighed Gilberto. "It was so disappointing and I feel sad for the team.

"However, we play this tie over 180 minutes and this was the first match, we now play the second leg and the team can still win."

The 31-year-old was left to reflect on mixed emotions. "I’m happy because I played my first match but unhappy because we lost," he sdded. "For me, apart from the goal, I feel good. I played a match at home, I enjoyed it and my injury felt okay. I had no problems. I’ve been out for a month and I’ve played with no problems, so that's positive."